Wasted Potential
by Dragon Elexus
Summary: The Crystal Gems began as nothing more than a nuisance. A thorn in her side. Now that little weed has grown into a vine that threatens to pull down everything. Yellow Diamond needs to find a way to crush them, their planet, and Rose Quartz- once and for all.
**Wasted Potential**

Fusion.

Fusion is the problem.

It had never been a problem before. It had simply been a tactic. When you had a problem too big or immense for Gems to handle separately, you just put them together until you had one large enough who could.

That was _proper_ fusion. This was something else entirely.

When Yellow Diamond had first heard of the situation, she had simply assumed that Blue Diamond and her court had overreacted, as they tended to do. They could be so _emotional_. A ruby and sapphire had touched, which was indecent, certainly— and of course, the pair should be punished for their desertion and continued disobedience— but there was no reason to spread rumours of some abominable hybrid fusion.

That had been centuries ago. Now, Yellow Diamond has been to Earth herself. Now, she has seen the fusions with her own eyes. Now, the situation has escalated.

The ruby and the sapphire (or garnet, as they are apparently calling themselves now) had only been the first. There have been many more to follow. Reports are unclear on just how many. They seemingly come in an infinite variety of colours, shapes, sizes, each touting ridiculous made-up names and designations, leaving destruction and confusion in their wake. It is disgusting.

It is also, Yellow Diamond has to admit, highly effective.

The rebels should be nothing but a nuisance. They are isolated. Outnumbered. Unequipped. There is no way that they should be able to stand up to the combined might of the Diamond Authority's grand empire. And yet, they persist. They somehow manage to gain the upper hand in every battle, inspiring further defection and rebellion at every turn, and so the problem only grows.

Fusion is a large reason for their success. Yellow Diamond is certain.

It's not the _only_ reason. Part of that is Rose Quartz. She is a powerful Gem, possessing great strength, healing capabilities and a powerful shield, but more than that, she is a formidable general. She knows how to use the planet's isolation and untamed environment to her advantage. She is surely the one who first discovered how her 'soldiers' could summon weapons from their very Gemstones, neatly sidestepping the issue of acquiring and maintaining arms. She, surely, is the one who realised what a tactical advantage hybrid fusion could provide.

Homeworld knows _exactly_ how large the Crystal Gems forces are. They keep detailed records of every single Gem ever produced and where they are deployed. They know when one of their own goes mysteriously missing. They can account for every Gem who disappears, and anticipate their reappearance on the enemy's side in subsequent battles. They can plan around the numbers, prepare for each Gem type's specific abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Except, they can't. Because of fusion.

Take a ruby and a sapphire, for example. Singularly, they pose little threat. Sapphires are fast, and their precognition is an obvious advantage, but they are small, weak, uncreative, and ill-suited for battle. Rubies are strong and their flames are dangerous, but they are unrestrained and unfocused, and their small size means they can be easily dispatched by a larger Quartz soldier.

This 'garnet' fusion, however? She is another matter entirely. She is far larger than either of her component parts. She possesses a sapphire's speed and dexterity, as well as a ruby's brute force. With her Future Vision, she can dodge every blow. She dances around enemies, then destroys their physical forms with a single punch. She fights not with ice, nor fire, but electricity— great bolts of lightning that Homeworld soldiers have never been trained against before.

And there are so many others. A new one almost every battle, so that generals can never prepared, never create successful strategies. There's a giant of a Gem can hope across an entire battlefield in a single-bound, dropping a summoned hammer on her enemies heads. Another fusion throws out discs that explode into shrapnel, scattering Homeworld forces. One screams so loudly that they incapacitate everyone who hears, while another conjures fogs too thick for anyone to see through. There's at least one fusion with invisibility that can, and has, infiltrated deep behind Homeworld lines, before springing a surprise attack. One fusion, armed with both wings and a crossbow, was able to absolutely devastate both the Sky Arenas and the Kindergarten.

This is only an incomplete list. And perhaps the most infuriating thing about the entire situation is how _quickly_ that list grows. With every defection, the Crystal Gem forces increase. With every new Crystal Gem, the more possibly fusion combinations there are. They have only seen a fraction of the rebels' true power.

Yellow Diamond has tried to duplicate it. Of course she has. Experimentation has not been met with much success.

She's ordered Gems from different castes to fuse. It cannot be very difficult, if a ruby and sapphire apparently managed it by _accident._ But her own Gems seem utterly incompetent. They recoil from the idea of even touching a Gem of a different caste, let alone fusing with one. It is only under direct order, and threat of punishment if they refuse, that they succeeded in the most basic first steps. Yellow Diamond has seen the act of fusion many times before, and it has always been a straight forward affair— the components touch, they glow, a larger one stands in their place a moment later. There must be more to this hybrid fusion, however, because that rarely works. It seems to require as bizarre dancing ritual, which is both long and inefficient. So far, only three of her Gem pairs have managed to successfully fuse.

For a given value of 'success'. They had been ugly hodgepodges of colours and shapes, nothing like mighty, graceful warriors of Rose Quartz's armies. They'd barely been capable of walking without falling down! Under their Diamond's piercing gaze, the pitiful fusions had dissolved, their components falling in a heap on the floor.

With every failure, Yellow Diamond sees a vision in her head. The Crystal Gems, now hundreds strong, all fusing together, into one single, mighty Gem. The power of every and all Gem castes, multiplied a dozen times over. Larger than an entire planet. That fusion reaches up, with its many, many arms— and simply plucks Homeworld ships from the stratosphere, crushing them in its massive fists.

The fusion stares at her, with a hundred, unblinking eyes. It speaks, and from its mouth comes the voice of Rose Quartz. It says, " _Mine_."

No. Yellow Diamond will not allow it.

She tries to create an alternative. Something else that can match the rebels' forces. She shatters those test subjects who failed her so miserably. If they are no good to her whole, perhaps they will be more useful in pieces.

They have armour. Giant suits of it, the kind which normally could only be worn by the largest of Quartz fusions. She has the suits welded together, along with weapons, into a single giant piece. Into each is placed a single Gem shard. Their power is nothing compared to a full Gem, but there is still enough to animate their manufactured bodies. Bodies made of steel, not light, which will not dissolve upon being struck by a single wound. Now she has hundreds of soldiers from only a handful— and yes, they are slow and uncreative and not particularly clever, but they follow orders to the letter, and they overwhelm the Crystal Gems through sheer numbers.

At first.

Then something happens. They stop listening. They turn on their masters. They attack not just the rebels, but Homeworld forces. Nobody expects it. Gems are taken by surprise a swords are thrust through their projected bodies, destroying them; moments later, their gemstones are crushed under massive metal feet. The abominations move on, not even noticing the devastation. Or perhaps simply not caring. Or perhaps even _relishing_ in it.

By the time the automaton army has been taken down, there has been hundreds of casualties on both sides. Yellow Diamond swears she can hear Rose Quartz laughing at her.

She will not stand for it.

The failure of these experiments was because of the lesser Gems. They lacked focus, resolve. They were not as dedicated to their Diamond as they should have been.

What she needs is a way so that they won't refuse. So that they _cannot_ refuse. A way to stabilise the fusion, permanently.

A beautiful, brilliant thought blossoms in her mind.

A hybrid fusion Gem is unstable because they are not a Gem at all. They are multiple Gems, merely masquerading as an individual. One body, but multiple minds, in constant conflict.

But what if you could unite the minds as one? Fuse the cores, well and truly? Permanently?

She runs the idea by her scientists. They go off to hypothesise, to test, to run calculations. Eventually, they return. They say, "It can be done."

Good.

"But," they say.

But what?

"Combining two or more whole Gems would not work. The resultant clusters would be unsuitable. They would reject the process."

You said it could be done.

"It can, it can! But not with _whole_ Gems. Their magic would be too strong. Those Gems would reject the binding, fight back."

So utilize shattered remains instead.

"Yes. Exactly."

Very well. Yellow Diamond has a surplus of shattered failures on her hands. If her scientists need more, they can easily be obtained.

"The incubation process will take a long time."

So? What does time matter, to a Diamond? To one who is Eternal?

In her mind, she sees another vision of the giant fusion. Hundreds of Gems, as one, unstoppable. But this time, the fusion belongs not to Rose Quartz, but to _her_. Hers to command, hers to control.

How large of a cluster fusion be made?

"It's difficult to know, at such an early stage. But theoretically, the only upper limit would be the number of shards provided."

Perfect.

"But there would be practical constraints. Potential downsides."

Such as?

"The clusters would need to be Incubated inside a planet. They would need to be exposed to the heat and pressure of a planet's core to coalesce into a single being. The larger the cluster, the more pressure that would be required. A planet of suitable size would need to be found. And once that cluster reached maturity, the formation of a projected body would utterly destroy the host planet. It would be unsuitable for any alternative functions or colonization."

Yellow Diamond sees Earth. A spinning ball of blues and greens and whites. Such a small thing. Nothing impressive. Yet somehow, it has managed to inspire such dissent. Disorder. Disloyalty. Disobedience. Death.

And for what? Empty promises of anarchy? Some pretty little flowers? An ugly, short-lived species that is beneath even the weakest pearl's notice?

"Destroying such a viable planet could be considered a serious waste of resources," one of her scientists say. Yellow Diamond dismisses her.

Yellow Diamond sees Rose Quartz's smile shatter, just like that miserable planet.

It is not a waste at all.


End file.
